Wisconsin Section

American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers

The following Wisconsin ASABE members were recognized for their contributions to engineering and their communities at the March 27th meeting (scroll down for pictures, click here for the full write up).

Prof. Richard J. Straub is the recipient of the 2013 Career Achievement Award. The purpose of this award is to honor a Wisconsin Section member who has made outstanding contributions to Agricultural and Biological Engineering through work in research, education, design, and/or extension. The selection is based on the candidate’s lifetime accomplishments as an engineer.

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Damion Babler is the recipient of the 2013 Young Engineer Award. The purpose of this award is to recognize young Wisconsin Section members for their outstanding contributions to the advancement of the Agricultural and Biological Systems Engineering profession.

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Randall Clark has been selected as the recipient for the Wayne G. Russell Award. The purpose of this award is to recognize an individual or organization demonstrating exceptional commitment to helping the Wisconsin agricultural industry adopt new electric technology, farmstead mechanization, and farm equipment. The award is named after the late Wayne G. Russell who in the late 1950’s, as a Rural Promotion Manager for Wisconsin Power and Light, formulated the idea for the Electric Power and Equipment Farm Show (now the Midwest Ag. Expo.).

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Jiang Yang, is the recipient of the Biological Systems Engineering Graduate Student of the Year Award. The purpose of this award is to recognize a graduate student enrolled in a Biological System Engineering program for singular achievement in developing and or advancing the technology of engineering for food and agriculture.

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Bryan Rowntree of UW-Madison is the recipient of the Biological Systems Engineering Student of the Year Award. The purpose of this award is to recognize an undergraduate student in preparation for a career in the profession.

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Ben Borgardt of UW-River Falls is the recipient of the Engineering Technology Student of the Year Award. The purpose of this award is to recognize an undergraduate enrolled in an Agricultural Engineering Technology, Agricultural Mechanization, or Agricultural Mechanization and Management program for achievement in preparation for a career in the profession.

Engineers cherish the “a-ha” moments in their professional lives. For PhD candidate Yi-Cheng Wang, one such moment occurred the first time he witnessed the impact of his own research on meeting a real, life-changing need. Having been counseled by his parents that engineering “is one of the best ways to improve lives,” he was later encouraged to do research on environmental disinfection methods and design the disinfection devices to solve the real world problems in biological field. During that time, he produced conference papers and patented technology that resulted in environmentally friendly technologies that were subsequently used by the government when the Morakot Typhoon hit Taiwan in 2009. “That is the first time I used my own research to solve the real world problems and that made me truly believe that engineering can really improve people’s lives. That is the moment I decided to dedicate my life to engineering.” Now Yi-Cheng is conducting research on the synthesization of nanomaterials and nanocomposites for energy and biosensor applications. He hopes that his research will result in more effective ways to harness green energy, enhance food safety and quality, and meet other real-world needs.